Daasanach language

Daasanach
Af Daasanach
Native to	Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan
Region	Lower Omo River, Lake Turkana
Ethnicity	Daasanach
Native speakers	71,000 (2007–2019)
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Cushitic Lowland East Western Omo–Tana Daasanach
Writing system	Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	dsh
Glottolog	daas1238
ELP	Daasanach

Daasanach (also known as Dasenech, Daasanech, Dathanaik, Dathanaic, Dathanik, Dhaasanac, Gheleba, Geleba, Geleb, Gelebinya, Gallab, Galuba, Gelab, Gelubba, Dama, Marille, Merile, Merille, Morille, Reshiat, Russia) is a Cushitic language spoken by the Daasanach in Ethiopia, South Sudan and Kenya whose homeland is along the Lower Omo River and on the shores of Lake Turkana.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Dental/ Alveolar	Post- alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Plosive	plain	b	t̪   d̪		c   ɟ	k   ɡ	ʔ
	implosive	ɓ		ɗ̠	ʄ	ɠ
Fricative	central	f   (v)	ð				(h)
	sibilant		s   (z)	ʃ
Nasal		m	n		ɲ	ŋ
Trill			r
Lateral			l
Approximant		w			j

• A glottal [h] may also occur in word-initial position, when preceding vowels in various positions
• /ð/ may freely alternate with an alveolar [z] among speakers.
• /w/ may be heard as a fricative [v] when before front vowels.
• Sounds /t̪, k/ can be heard as spiranted [ð, ɣ] in intervocalic positions. /k/ can also be heard as uvular [χ] when in between back vowel sounds.
• /k/ can be heard as a uvular [q] when before back vowel sounds.
• /ɗ̠/ in intervocalic positions can be deglottalized, and heard as either retroflex sounds [ɖ] or [ɽ].

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	ɪ iː		ʊ uː
Mid	ɛ ɛː		ɔ ɔː
Open		a aː

Writing system

Jim Ness and Susan Ness of Bible Translation and Literacy and Wycliffe Bible Translators devised a practical spelling and published a 1995 alphabet book. Yergalech Komoi and Gosh Kwanyangʼ published another alphabet book in 1995. An edition of the Gospel of Mark was published in 1997, and other Bible translations were published with this spelling in 1999. The alphabet was later revised, with the digraph ⟨dh⟩ replaced by a bowl-struck đ (approximately ⟨d̶⟩).

Daasanach alphabet

Letters	ʼ	a	b	ʼb	ch	d	ʼd	đ	e	f	g	ʼg	h	i	ʼj	k	l	m	n	ngʼ	ny	o	r	s	sh	t	u	v	w	y
Pronunciation	ʔ	a	b	ɓ	c	d	ɗ	ð	e	f	g	ɠ	h	i	ɟ	k	l	m	n	ŋ	ɲ	o	r	s	ʃ	t	u	v	w	j

Vowels can be given with the acute accent, ⟨á, é, í, ó, ú⟩, or the circumflex accent ⟨â, ê, î, ô, û⟩.

Further reading

• Sasse, Hans-Jürgen. 1976. "Dasenech" in: Bender, M. Lionel (ed.): The Non-Semitic Languages of Ethiopia. pp. 196–221. East Lansing: African Studies Center.
• Tosco, Mauro (2001). The Dhaasanac Language: Grammar, Texts, Vocabulary of a Cushitic Language of Ethiopia. Cushitic Language Studies. Vol. 17. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag. ISBN 978-3-89645-064-7.
• "Warꞌgát Hátlé Ke Túóy Muogká ꞌDéé Um Ke Oonootká". SIL International. 15 September 2022.
• "Af Daasanach Tuony Mé Gáá Koonlé". SIL International. 15 September 2022.

External links

• Linguistic map of Daasanach language at Muturzikin.com
• World Atlas of Language Structures information on Dhaasanac